The inspiration behind to choose this challenge :

The first factor that affected us was primarily the situation of the people we saw around us, and since we were going to go into such a project, why shouldn't we use it for the people we love first? Thus, we develop an app that appeals to the ages of 18-65, that will provide them with help in terms of health, mental and psychological needs when necessary, especially considering our elderly people.

How did we use space agency data in our project:

We have taken the app  inspiration from the  experience of the methods used by NASA and other space research organisations and astronauts to cope up the stress and loneliness due to isolation in space. NASA provides the  astronauts psychological training so they are able to cope up in a space station in isolation for a fixed duration of time. We have used NASA columns, podcast,blogs, interview and research paper to collect the procedures the astronauts follow to keep them away from social isolation, stress and other mental issues. So from the Dr. Tom Williams podcast which is published in text format on NASA website. He provides many methods that astronauts use to tackle mental health and isolation which we have incorporated in our app. From the interview of astronaut Anne McClain and Scott Kelly we found many tips and tricks to tackle isolation and loneliness and they even said that these tricks can be used on earth. We also adopted their tips while designing the apps. We also use research papers written by different universities with collaboration with NASA to understand which things cause stress and loneliness and stress. We also studied the blogs and papers of other agencies like ESA, JAXA to understand their points on how to tackle isolation. We have also used interview,research paper and other tips to tackle isolation and mental issues and convert it into image form and included in our app so  user can also read to use this tips(physical and mental guidance) in their life.

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Tools , programs and languages:

Android studio:

Android studio is an developer resource in which you can create applications for Googles Android platform. This was a program we decided to use at the start of the project before switching to Figma for simplicity.

https://developer.android.com/studio (XML, Java)

IntelliJ:

IntelliJ is a program in which we developed the back end of our program.

https://www.jetbrains.com/idea/ (Java)

Figma:

Figma was the application / website in which we used to design out application.

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Problems:

There were many challenges in which we had to overcome along with the project. We were being optimistic in the application having only two developers working on it, the objectives we set our selves were not obtainable in the time frame given. Throughout the first day, we knew it was going to be a challenge so we decided to switch to Figma. Figma allowed us to work on the application together in a simple manner. It made the team stronger in how our application was going to look in partnership, no matter their knowledge.

Another challenge is we had to overcome was the language barrier within the team. Our team is spread out all over Europe so we had to make sure everyone understood their tasks.

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Appendix:

Face Scan:

We wanted to make sure the application could be easily accessed at all times by seniors. Within the application we had to make sure it was user friendly. Using the knowledge of HCI we made the application simple as well as easy to use. One problem in which we encountered was trying to make the sign up page as simple as possible. We came up with multiple ideas such as a unique code they would use instead of a password. The Best idea we came up with was a facial scanning technique which the elder would use as there pass code. This means there wouldn't be a need to use an email address to sign up the Senior could simply sign up using there face, in which facial recognition software will be used to create an encrypted password. A rough prototype of the idea can be found below:

https://www.figma.com/file/BxCstEeGp3Aei2bCDhDFsC/Facial-Scan-Idea?node-id=0%3A1

Social Aspect

Within the application we wanted a way in which people would be able to communicate with each other. The idea of the social aspect of the application, using machine learning, would be seniors using the application would be able to communicate with each other. This combats the loneliness aspect of a pandemic such as COVID-19. The application gives simple questions in which can be matched with other users with similar hobbies and interests. When the user has completed the questions they are greeted with a message stating would you like to join a group. COVID-19 isn't just one country the whole world is effected. The opportunities for the social part of the application is endless. You could connect with users all over the world, with the same interests.

A rough prototype of the idea can be found below:

https://www.figma.com/file/87dP2Bob1iSm7Oo2aEtPCt/Social-idea

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZESAjKn79Y&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZESAjKn79Y&feature=youtu.be

NASA, N.A.S.A. (2020) Social Isolation and Space. [Online] Available from: https://www.nasa.gov/hrp/social-isolation [accessed 30 May 2020].

NASA, N.A.S.A. (2020) Social Isolation and Space. [Online] Available from: https://www.nasa.gov/hrp/social-isolation/in-context [accessed 30 May 2020].

NASA Podecast, N.A.S.A. (2020) Interview with Tom Williams, Ph.D.. [Online] Available from: https://www.nasa.gov/johnson/HWHAP/hazard-2-isolation/ [accessed 30 May 2020].

NASA Interview, N.A.S.A. (2020) An Astronaut’s Tips For Living in Space – Or Anywhere. [Online] Available from:https://www.nasa.gov/feature/an-astronaut-s-tips-for-living-in-space-or-anywhere[accessed 30 May 2020].

EPHA, E.P.H.A. (2020) The dangers of social isolation during a pandemic. [Online] Available from: https://epha.org/the-dangers-of-social-isolation-during-a-pandemic/ [accessed 30 May 2020].

Daily Mail, D.M. (2020) International Space Station astronaut Scott Kelly shares his tips on how to survive self-isolation - including following a schedule, getting plenty of sleep, and binge-watching TV series. [Online] Available from: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-8142195/International-Space-Station-astronaut-Scott-Kelly-shares-tips-survive-self-isolation.html [accessed 30 May 2020].

Psychiatry advisor, P.A. (2020) The Costs of Social Isolation: Loneliness and COVID-19. [Online] Available from: https://www.psychiatryadvisor.com/home/topics/general-psychiatry/costs-of-social-isolation-loneliness-covid19/ [accessed 30 May 2020].

Mohammad Alradhawi, Nour Shubber, Jack Sheppard, Yousif Ali, N.C.B.I. (2020) Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental well-being amongst individuals in society- A letter to the editor on “The Socio-Economic Implications of the Coronavirus and COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review”. [Online] Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7198428/ [accessed 30 May 2020].

NASA, N.A.S.A. (2020) Task book. [Online] Available from: https://taskbook.nasaprs.com/tbp/index.cfm?action=public_query_taskbook_content&TASKID=12495 [accessed 30 May 2020].

NASA, N.A.S.A. (2020) Improving Habitability, Mood & Diet through Bioregenerative Food Systems. [Online] Available from: https://data.nasa.gov/dataset/Improving-Habitability-Mood-Diet-through-Bioregene/7e3d-7x7b [accessed 30 May 2020].

International Space Station astronaut Scott Kelly shares his tips on how to survive self-isolation (2020). [Online] Available from: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-8142195/International-Space-Station-astronaut-Scott-Kelly-shares-tips-survive-self-isolation.html [accessed 30 May 2020].